He takes up the weak out of the dust and lifts up the poor from the ashes.

He sets them with the princes, with the princes of his people.

–Psalm 113:5-7, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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Exodus 23:6-8 commands:

You shall not subvert the rights of your needy in their disputes. Keep far from a false charge; do not bring death on those who are innocent and in the right, for I will not acquit the wrongdoer. Do not take bribes, for bribes blind the clearsighted and upset the pleas of those who are in the right.

—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)

That passage functions as background for the lection from Isaiah 5 and the lesson from Mark 12. In both cases the poor suffer from institutional injustice. The explanation of Isaiah 5:8-23 is straight-forward and inside the text. In the case of Mark 12:41-44, however, one needs to read verses 38-40 also:

In his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets; these are the men who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.

—The Jerusalem Bible (1966)

In that immediate textual context we read of the widow and her two coins. The scriptures record words yet not tone of voice, so I have to rely on context to interpret the passage. My reading of the pericope is that Jesus, without condemning the widow, did not praise her either. No, I think, he spoke mournfully, condemning corrupt and proud scribes and the broader corruption present at the Temple.

People create, maintain, and influence societies, cultures, and institutions, which, in turn, influence them. May we function as agents of God’s salt and light in the world, leaving it better than we found it, especially for the poor and other vulnerable people.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 19, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREW BOBOLA, JESUIT MARTYR

THE FEAST OF SAINT DUNSTAN OF CANTERBURY, ABBOT OF GLASTONBURY AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

THE FEAST OF SAINT IVO OF CHARTRES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT IVO OF KERMARTIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND ADVOCATE OF THE POOR

The prayer for divine destruction of enemies–hardly unique to Psalm 54–does violate the commandment to love one’s enemies as oneself, does it not?

Enemies exist. In the pericopes for these three days alone we read of Midianites, monarchs, Assyrians, Arameans, and corrupt officials from the Temple at Jerusalem. Furthermore, we, if we are to become properly informed, must know that many early Christians regarded Jews who rejected Jesus as enemies. Christianity began as a Jewish sect, one which remained on the Jewish margins. Frustrations over this reality became manifest in, among other texts, the Gospel of John, with its repeated references to “the Jews” in negative contexts. Nevertheless, St. Paul the Apostle, who preached to Gentiles, was always Jewish.

Sometimes enemies are others. On many occasions, however, one can find the enemy looking back at oneself in a mirror. A recurring theological motif in the Hebrew Bible is that the exiles of Hebrew people resulted from rampant societal sinfulness; the collective was responsible. That runs afoul of Western notions of individualism, but one finds it in the pages of the Bible. There are at least two varieties of responsibility and sin–individual and collective. We are responsible to God, for ourselves, and to and for each other. Thus reward and punishment in the Hebrew Bible are both individual and collective. Sometimes, the texts tell us, we bring destruction on ourselves.

But how does that translate into language regarding God? May we take care not to depict God as a cosmic tyrant while investing that God is also merciful. Yes, actions have consequences for ourselves and those around us. Yes, God has sent many prophets, a large number of whom have endured the consequences of rejection. Yes, both judgment and mercy exist in God. I do not presume to know where the former ends and the latter begins; such matters are too great for me, a mere mortal.

No, I reject false certainty and easy answers. No variety of fundamentalism is welcome here. No, I embrace what St. Paul the Apostle called

the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God,

complete with

his judgments

and

inscrutable ways.–Romans 11:33, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

I favor “the mystery of God,” as in 1 Corinthians 2:1, as well as a relationship with God, which depends on divine faithfulness, not on human wisdom.

One point to note is that Paul does not present Christianity as a set of dogmas or as a manual of advice. It is a story, something that happened, something God has done.–Page 75

Orthodoxy can be healthy, so long as it is neither stale nor unloving. Pietism, with its legalism, is quite unfortunate. Pietism, a reaction against stale orthodoxy, is at least as objectionable as that which it opposes.

Some thoughts of Dr. Carl J. Sodergren (1870-1949), a theologian of the former Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (1860-1962), from 1937 apply well in the context of these pericopes and many circumstances:

Orthodoxy is good. It means adherence to the truth, and no sane man would willingly surrender that. But orthodoxy without love is dangerous. It provides fertile soil for bigotry, hatred, spiritual pride, self-conceit, and a score of other evils which hide the Holy One from the eyes of the world. It turns men into merciless heresy hunters, the most contemptible vermin on earth. It aligns us with the scribes and Pharisees, the priests and high priests of the time of Jesus. Nobody ever questioned their orthodoxy, but because it was loveless, it blinded them to His divinity and made it easier to spike Him to a cross. We are not worried about the trumpet calls to orthodoxy which for some reason have begun to blare may drown out in our hearts the still small voice which prays for unity and love among all Christ’s disciples.

May love of God and for each other be evident in our lives and social structures and institutions. Wherever it is evident, may it increase. May we obey the divine commandment to take care of each other, not to exploit anyone or to discriminate against any person. The Golden Rule is difficult to live, but we have God’s grace available to us; may we avail ourselves of it. We also have an example–Jesus–to follow. May his love be evident (then more so) in us, especially those of us who claim to follow him or to attempt to do so.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 30, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHANN OLAF WALLIN, ARCHBISHOP OF UPPSALA AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF ARTHUR JAMES MOORE, UNITED METHODIST BISHOP IN GEORGIA

THE FEAST OF HEINRICH LONAS, GERMAN MORAVIAN ORGANIST, COMPOSER, AND LITURGIST

Almighty and eternal God, you show perpetual lovingkindness to us your servants.

Because we cannot rely on our own abilities,

grant us your merciful judgment,

and train us to embody the generosity of your Son,

Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 48

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The Assigned Readings:

Nahum 1:1, 14-2:2 (Thursday)

Nahum 2:3-13 (Friday)

Zephaniah 2:13-15 (Saturday)

Psalm 145:1-8 (All Days)

2 Corinthians 13:1-4 (Thursday)

2 Corinthians 13:5-10 (Friday)

Matthew 19:23-30 (Saturday)

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The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,

slow to anger and of great kindness.

–Psalm 145:8, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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Death, desolation and destruction.

–Nahum 2:10a, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

Those four words summarize the Old Testament readings for these days. The (Neo-)Assyrian Empire, notorious for its violence, had fallen. The Chaldeans/Neo-Babylonians, who had conquered them, were almost as bad, but two Biblical authors rejoiced at the fall of Assyria and declared that event to be God’s judgment.

Warnings precede judgments much of the time, especially in the Bible. 2 Corinthians 13, for example, contains a warning (verse 2) and calls for repentance. The Corinthian congregation was a notoriously troublesome assembly. Indeed, it remained so for decades (at least). You, O reader, might wish to consult the (First) Letter to the Corinthians (circa 100 C.E.) of St. Clement I of Rome (died circa 101 C.E.), which is authentic, for evidence of continued difficulties. A major problem was factionalism, one variety of attachment.

Attachments are of the essence in this post. The Assyrian rulers were attached to violence. One man in Matthew 20 was attached to money and possessions. Others were attached to relationships. No attachment should interfere with recognizing one’s total dependence on God and one’s reliance on other human beings and responsibilities to them.

These texts, among others, function as warnings to us today. Will we heed the notice and amend our ways as necessary and proper?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 16. 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHN DIEFENBAKER AND LESTER PEARSON, PRIME MINISTERS OF CANADA; AND TOMMY DOUGLAS, FEDERAL LEADER OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

THE FEAST OF JOHN JONES OF TALYSARN, WELSH CALVINISTIC METHODIST MINISTER AND HYMN TUNE COMPOSER

1 Timothy 3 and 4 concern themselves with the trust which is leadership and the imperative of true teaching in the context of the church. Those matters relate to Nehemiah, who led by example for the common good in Jerusalem centuries before the author of 1 Timothy wrote. Nehemiah faced stiff opposition in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, but he succeeded with divine help. And, in response to economic injustice, he declared a jubilee, something out of Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 15. He even set an example by denying himself his legal portion of the governor’s food allowance.

Economic justice is among the great preoccupations of the Bible. How one ought to practice it differs according to one’s individual circumstances as well as one’s time and societal setting, but the imperative is timeless. Those who exercise authority have an obligation to think of the common good and to act for it. May they not only seek to do so, but, by grace, succeed.

Above: St. Mary Magdalene at the Foot of the Cross (Circa 1528-1530), a Detail from a Pieta by Angelo Bronzino (1503-1572)

Misreading Scripture Due to Hearsay

SEPTEMBER 20 and 21, 2018

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Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada. I invite you to follow it with me.

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COMBINED FIRST READING FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

1 Corinthians 15:1-20 (The Jerusalem Bible):

Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you–believing anything else will not lead to anything.

Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five thousand of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.

I am the least of the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the name apostle; but by God’s grace that is what I am, and the grace that he gave me has not been fruitless. On the contrary, I, or rather the grace of God that is with me, have worked harder than any of the others; but what matters is that I preach what they preach, and this is what you all believed.

Now if Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, Christ himself cannot have been raised, and if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your believing it is useless; indeed, we are shown up as witnesses who have committed perjury before God, because we swore in evidence before God that he had raised Christ to life. For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.

But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.

RESPONSES

Psalm 118:14-29 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

14 The LORD is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.

15 There is a sound of exultation and victory

in the tents of the righteous:

16 “The right hand of the LORD has triumphed!

the right hand of the LORD is exalted!

the right hand of the LORD has triumphed!”

17 I shall not die, but live,

and declare the works of the LORD.

18 The LORD has punished me sorely,

but he did not hand me over to death.

19 Open for me the gates of righteousness;

I will enter them;

I will offer thanks to the LORD.

20 “This is the gate of the LORD;

he who is righteous may enter.”

21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me

and have become my salvation.

22 The same stone which the builders rejected

has become the chief cornerstone.

23 This is the LORD’s doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 On this day the LORD has acted;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Hosanna, LORD, hosanna!

LORD, send us now success.

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;

we bless you from the house of the LORD.

27 God is the LORD; he has shined upon us;

form a procession with branches up to the horns of the altar.

28 “You are my God, and I will thank you;

you are my God, and I will exalt you.”

29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his mercy endures for ever.

Psalm 17:1-7 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Hear my plea of innocence, O LORD;

give heed to my cry;

listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips.

2 Let my vindication come forth from your presence;

let your eyes be fixed on justice.

3 Weigh my heart, summon me by night,

melt me down; you will find no impurity in me.

4 I give no offence with my mouth as others do;

I have heeded the words of your lips.

5 My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law;

in your paths my feet shall not stumble.

6 I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me;

incline your ear to me and hear my words.

7 Show me your marvelous loving-kindness,

O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand

from those who rise up against them.

COMBINED GOSPEL READING FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

Luke 7:36-8:3 (The Jerusalem Bible):

One of the Pharisees invited him to a meal. When he arrived at the Pharisee’s house and took his place at table, a woman came in, who had a bad name in the town. She had heard he was dining with the Pharisee and had brought with her an alabaster jar of ointment. She waited behind him at his feet, weeping, and her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them away with her hair; then she covered his feet with kisses and anointed them with the ointment.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself,

If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him and what a bad name she has.

Then Jesus took him up and said,

Simon, I have something to say to you.

He replied,

Speak, Master.

Jesus said,

There was once a creditor who had two men in his debt; one owed him five hundred denarii, the other fifty. They were unable to pay, so he pardoned them both. Which of them will love him more?

Simon answered,

The one who was pardoned more, I suppose.

Jesus said,

You are right.

Then he turned to the woman.

Simon,

he said,

do you see this woman? I came into your house, and you poured no water over my feet, but she has poured out her tears over my feet and wiped them away with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she has been covering my feet with kisses ever since I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. For this reason I tell you that her sins, her many sins, must have been forgiven her, or she would not have shown such great love. It is the man who is forgiven little who shows little love.

Then he said to her,

Your sins are forgiven.

Those who were with him at table began to say to themselves,

Who is this man, that he even forgives sins?

But he said to the woman,

Your faith has saved you; go in peace.

Now after this he [Jesus] made his way through towns and villages preaching, and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom of God. With him went the Twelve, as well as certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments: Mary surnamed the Magdalene, form whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and several others who had provided for them out of their own resources.

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The Collect:

O God, because without you we are not able to please you mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Regarding the reading from 1 Corinthians, I have little to write. What can I say that Paul did not express more eloquently? So I leave that as it stands and move along.

Each canonical Gospel contains an account–each quite similar, by the way–of a woman anointing Jesus. The citations, for the record, are:

Luke 7:36-50

Matthew 26:9-13

Mark 14:3-9

John 12:1-8

In the Lukan account, an unnamed prostitute anoints the feet of our Lord at the home of Simon the Pharisee. In the accounts from Mark and Matthew, however, an unnamed woman (without hint of bad reputation) anoints our Lord’s head at the home of Simon the Leper. And, in the Johannine Gospel, Mary of Bethany anoints our Lord’s feet at her home. There is certainly no hint of a bad reputation in John 12:1-8.

In the Lukan Gospel, immediately after 7:36-50, we read of various female disciples and financial backers of Jesus, among them St. Mary of Magdala, a.k.a. St. Mary Magdalene. Tradition, begun by Pope St. Gregory I (“the Great”) associates the prostitute at the end of Luke 7 with St. Mary Magdalene. This association is erroneous. Yet many readers and students of the Bible insist that the Good Book labels St. Mary Magdalene a reformed prostitute.

We who grew up with the Bible and Bible stories learned a great deal, some of it erroneous. If we are to learn accurately what the Bible says about any given topic, we need to turn off the proverbial tapes running inside our heads, stop skipping ahead in a “I already know this part” fashion, and pay very close attention. I endeavor to do this, with mixed results, I am sure. I invite you, O reader, to join me in striving to improve. May our expectations not prevent us from learning what we need to learn in the canonized texts.

Above: Landscape with the Parable of the Sower, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1557

Image in the Public Domain

Seed Among Thorns

SEPTEMBER 21, 2019

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Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada. I invite you to follow it with me.

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1 Timothy 6:13-21 (The Jerusalem Bible):

Now, before God the source of all life and before Jesus Christ, who spoke up as a witness for the truth in front of Pontius Pilate, I put to you the duty of doing all that you have been told, with no faults or failures, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who at the due time will be revealed

by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all,

the King of Kings and the Lord of lords,

who alone is immortal,

whose home is in accessible light,

whom no man has seen and no man is able to see:

to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.

Warn those who are rich in this world’s goods that they are not to look down on other people; and not to set their hopes on money, which is untrustworthy, but on God who, out of his riches, gives us all that we need for our happiness. Tell them that they are to do good, and be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share–that is the way they can save up a good capital sum for the future if they want to make sure of the only life that is real.

My dear Timothy, take great care of all that has been entrusted to you. Have nothing to do with the pointless philosophical discussions and antagonistic beliefs of the “knowledge” which is not knowledge at all; by adopting this, some have gone right away from the faith. Grace be with you.

Psalm 100 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Be joyful in the LORD, all you lands;

serve the LORD with gladness

and come before his presence with a song.

2 Know this: The LORD himself is God;

he himself has made us, and we are his;

we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;

go into his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and call upon his Name.

4 For the LORD is good;

his mercy is everlasting;

and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

Luke 8:4-15 (The Jerusalem Bible):

With a large crowd gathering and people from every town finding their way to him, he used this parable:

A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell on the edge of the path and was trampled on; and the birds of the air ate it up. Some seed fell on rock, and when it came up it withered away, having no moisture. Some seed fell amongst thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell into rich soil and grew and produced its crop a hundredfold.

Saying this he cried,

Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!

His disciples asked him what this parable might mean, and he said,

The mysteries of the kingdom of God are revealed to you; for the rest there are only parables, so that

they may see but not perceive,

listen but not understand.

This, then is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. Those on the edge of the path are people who have heard it, and the devil comes and carries away from the word their hearts in case they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are people who, when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of trial they give up. As for the part that fell into thorns, this is people who have heard, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and do not reach maturity. As for the part in the rich soil, this is people with a noble and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance.

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The Collect:

O God, because without you we are not able to please you mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Many people who grow up in churches then join one as an adult stop attending services at any congregation after a while. One such person who stops attending a liberal church but becomes a regular at a conservative one, or one who leaves a conservative church for a liberal one makes a move for reasons of theology. But one drops out entirely might have other reasons. Survey data indicates that the most frequent reason for dropping out of church, according to those who do so, is that they are too busy.

Other posts, links to which I have provided in this one, have their own emphases. Here, however, I choose to focus on those who the seed that fell among thorns. Seeds of weeds were present among tilled soil. Some of these seeds germinated and produced weeds with thorns. So, when the sower dropped non-weed seeds into the soil, the thorns choked them. These thorns, according to Luke 8, are “the worries and riches and pleasures of life,” so the good seeds “do not reach maturity.”

I chose to extend the assigned reading from 1 Timothy (6:13-16) to the end of the book (verse 21). “Why not?” I thought. Besides, the Canadian Anglican lectionary I am following moves along to Ezra, beginning with Monday, Year 1, in the Week of Proper 20. Extending the reading by a few does connect 1 Timothy 6 to Luke 8.

Warn those who are rich in this world’s goods that they are not to look down on other people; and not to set their hopes on money, which is untrustworthy, but on God who, out of his riches, gives us all we need for our happiness. Tell them that they are to do good, and be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share–this is the way they can save up a good capital sum for the future if they want to make sure of the only life that is real.

–1 Timothy 6:17-19 (The Jerusalem Bible)

When we chase after that which does not satisfy, we do not pursue that which does. When we live over-scheduled lives, we leave no or inadequate time for prayer and leisure. When we are often or constantly in touch with others via technology, we leave no or inadequate time for peace and quiet. The only life that is real is life in God. If we neglect this truth, we do so at our own peril.